Shaft control mechanism



Oct. 5, 1954 D. w. WEBER SHAFT CONTROL MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 9, 1951 INVENTOR.

DAVID VV. WEBER A 1 roan: r

Oct. 5, 1954 D. w. WEBER 2,691,081

SHAFT CONTROL MECHANISM Filed July 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Arroeue Patented Oct. 5, 1954 UNITED STAIE 'ATENT OFFICE SHAFT CONTROL MECHANISM corporation of: Iowa:

Application July'9, 1951, Serial No. 235,849

(Cl. 200l8) 8'Claims'. 1:1

This invention rel-atesin general to shaft posi tioningmechanisms and in particular to a-control device which may bepre-set to regulate the position of a shaft.

It oftentimes becomes desirabl'e to control shaft positions sothat they may be returned topredetermined positions; Forexamplein radio 'receivers and transmitters, if it isdesired to receive or transmit at predetermined frequencies; the tuning elements of'the equipments must beadjusted to the predetermined*frequencies.

It is anobject' of'this invention therefore, to provide acontrol mechanism fora shaft positioning apparatus such as disclosed in Patent No. 2,476,673 which issued to Richard W. Mayand Horst M. Schweighofer on July 19,1949.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pre-set control mechanism that may be utilized to control the position of one or more shafts.

Still another object of this inventionvis to provide a control circuit for operatinga shaft positioning mechanism to return it to pre-setpositions.

Yet another object of this invention is. to provide a control mechanism which is capable of,

selecting a controlled shaft position by rotating a tuning drum, relative to a plurality of .switch actuators.

A. feature of this invention is found in the pro vision for a plurality of switch actuating combs which are mounted so as to actuate a plurality of control switches in response to the position of a tuning drum that carries a cam for actuating a different comb in each position of the tuning drum.

Further objects, features andadvantages of this invention will become. apparent, from the following description and claims when. read in view ofthedrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a viewofthe tuning drum-and comb assembly of this invention;

Figure 2 a sectional View taken on line 2--2- of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is asectionalview. taken on line li-3 of Figure 2;

Figures is asideviewof enact the combs-of this inventionillustrating how "various-teeth of the combs may be present or absent;

Figure 5 illustrates the controlswitches ofjthis; invention shown endto endgrathein thanbehind each other astheyare-actually-mounted; and,

Figure 6 illustrates thec-ontrol mechanism of this invention andits operative-association-with the control switches.

Figure 1 illustrates a tuning drum assembly Which comprises end rings l0 and II between Which are mounted a plurality of guides l2 that are spaced about the periphery of the. rings ii] and H. As shown inVF-igure 3, the tuning drum assembly is rigidly connected by pins i3 toa gear M which is rotatably supported on ashaft H3.

The gear, l4 mesheswith a small gear 57 which is rotatably supported on a shaft it, A knob i ii isrigidly attached to shaft it to turn the tuning drum assembly.

The tuning drum assembly is rotatably sup-- ported by a comb-supporting assembly, designatedgenerallyas-Zl. Sleeve bearings 22 and 23 restbetween the'rings l0 and I! and discs 2 andlfih The discs 24 andZS are connected together by shafts 21, 28', 29 and 3B.

A plurality of switches are supported on holding: brackets. 34: by: the: shafts;-2'8:and:29; The numbercofiswitchesimay. vary, but'for illustrative purposes; fiveswitchesy; are shown in Figures 2 and 3; The switches are numbered 32, 33, 3 3, 3:6 and-31?.

The switches: 32'- through 37 may. be of the microtype-r switch;- which have buttons 38 that maybe moved into". the body of; the switch to closeethem., Eachof the .switches32' through 3'? liavezspring.actuating;leversBil that engage the buttons ditto actuate the switches. The levers 39:: are'of varying lengths and: have upwardly extending actuating portions :4 i z The difference in lengths of the levers 39 allows the actuating portions, 39.; to. be .-1atera1ly displacedfrom each other-,so,thatlthey cantbe independently actuated.

Thisis: best v seen: in Figure 5' wherein four switches areillustrated;, Theswitches are shown and to endrather than behind each other for illustrative: purposes;

Avpluralityoi push bars lfi are pivotally sup portedby shafts laextendingfrom discs 2 and fifi best-shown inAFigure 2., There is a shaft anda push. bar 33' for each, switch. The push bars are pivoted adjacent one edge so that when they are pushedjdown, they engage an actuating portion ll'of levers 3.9 to actuate a particular switch.

As shown-in FigureQ; the center push baractuates' the-switch which has its actuating portion 4i-inthe center-whereasthe push bars to either side actuate other switches.

A-- pairof'shaft's' 48 and ll" are mounted on a radial line between the discs 24 and 25 and, a plurality of combs lfiaremounted on. the shafts 4t and 4'iby meansofslotsAS and Eli formed in them;

The-combs 48*areformedwith teeth 52 and as best shown in Figure 4, each comb has a different combination of teeth. For example, the comb illustrated in Figure 4 has the first and third teeth present with the second, fourth and fifth missing. With five teeth there will be 2 or 32 different combinations.

The combs 43 may be moved relative to the shafts H5 and i? toward the push bars ii-l to actuate the switches. For example, if the comb illus trated in Figure 4 is moved to the right with reference to Figure 2, it will move the middle and the first push bars, thus actuating the two switches corresponding to these push bars. If a comb with a different combination of teeth is pushed to the right, with reference to Figure 2, a different combination of switches will be actuated.

Each guide [2 has a cam 53 mounted thereon with each cam movable longitudinally of the guides so that it may be positioned to engage a comb. As the tuning drum is rotated, different cams 53 will actuate different combs so that a different combination of switches is obtained for each cam 53. It is to be understood, of course, that two or more cams 53 may be placed so to actuate the same comb.

Figure 6 illustrates an apparatus controlled by the mechanism. of Figure 1. This apparatus is shown in Patent No. 2,476,673 and comprises a control shaft 54 which has mounted thereon, a toothed stop wheel 56. A pawl 51 is pivotally supported and has an engageable portion 58 for engaging the teeth of stop wheel 55. Thus, the shaft 54 may be held in any one of a plurality of positions by engaging various teeth of the stop wheel with the pawl 57. A relay 5% controls a pivotally supported armature 5i and the pawl 57.

A driving means 62, as for example, an electric motor, is connected to shaft 54 through a clutch 63. When the relay 59 is energized, it connects one side of the motor 52 to ground through the contact 6d. The opposite side of the motor is connected to one side of a power supply 66 which might be, for example, the positive side of a D. C. source. The other side of the source 67 is connected to ground and the relay 59 is connected to terminal 66. The other side of the relay 59 is connected to a seeking switch, designated generally as 53, which might be, for example, a wafer type switch such as described in Pat nt No.

The wafer switch 68 has a movable switch portion as which is mounted on shaft 54 and a stationary portion H which has a plurality of contacts i2, i3, i4 and 16 mounted thereon. The contacts '52, 73, M and 16 are connected to the switches 32, 33, 34 and 36. It is to be noted that in Figure 6, only four switches are illustrated whereas in Figures 1, 2 and 3, five switches are illustrated. The principles of the invention are the same in both cases and any desired number of control wires and switches may be used. The switches 32 through 36 have pivotal throw arms l? which correspond to the buttons 33. The throw arms '17 move between contacts 8| and 32. The contacts 8| are connected together and to ground, and the contacts 82 are connected together.

The shaft 55 is connected to the tuning mechanism, as for example, a rotary condenser.

In operation, the selector drum assembly is rotated until a cam 53 engages a comb 48 to give the desired switch combination. It is to be noted that the number of combs correspond to the number of desired combinations and that there are more combs than there are switches.

The particular comb chosen, actuates the switches 32 through 31, thus obtaining a. particular combination of actuated switches. The switches 32 through 31 are connected to the seeking switch 68 and the relay 59 and motor 62 will be energized to rotate the shaft 54 until the d sc 69 of the seeking switch corresponds to the setting of the switches made by the particular comb.

When this occurs, the motor and relay will be de-energized due to an open circuit obtained and the shaft 54 will be set to the desired position. For a more detailed explanation of the operation of this type of shaft controlling circuit, reference should be made to Patent No. 2,476,673.

It is seen that this invention relates primarily to a novel arrangement whereby a selector drum may be rotated to choose a particular combination of actuated switches. The selector drum may be marked to indicate particular frequencies and the setting of the selector drum may then be read directly in frequency. For example, in an airplane it might be desired to change the frequency of a radio receiver during cross country flights. The changes may be accomplished by rotating the selector drum and the equipment will be automatically tuned to the new frequency.

Although this invention has been described with respect to particular embodiments thereof, it is not to be so limited as changes and modifications may be made therein which are within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. Apparatus for controlling the settings of a plurality of control switches comprising, a combsupporting assembly with said switches supported thereon, a lever attached to each switch, said levers being of various lengths so that their ends are laterally offset from each other, a plurality of push bars pivotally supported adjacent the ends of said levers with a push bar for each lever, a plurality of combs supported adjacent said push bars with their teeth engagin the push bars, said combs movable relative to the comb supporting assembly so that the combs may actuate the push bars, a tuning drum assembly rotatably supported about the comb-supporting assembly, a plurality of longitudinal guides supported about the tuning drum assembly, a cam slidably mounted on each guide, and one of said cams engageable with one of the combs to actuate switches corresponding to the teeth of the particular comb.

2. Apparatus for controlling the settings of a plurality of switches comprising, a comb-supporting assembly supporting said switches, an actuating lever attached to each of said switches with each lever varying in length from the other levers so that their ends are transversel off-set from each other, a plurality of pivotally supported push bars mounted adjacent the ends of said levers, a plurality of combs with varying numbers of teeth adjustably supported on the comb-supporting assembly and engageable with various combinations of said push bars, a tuning drum assembly rotatably supported about said comb supporting assembly, a plurality of longitudinal guides supported on said tuning drum assembly, a cam carried on each guide and axially adjustable relative thereto, and one of said cams engageable with one of said combs to actuate it in each position of the tuning drum assembly.

3. Apparatus for controlling the settings of a plurality of switches comprising, a comb-supporting assembly with the switches attached thereto, a lever attached to each switch to actuate it with each lever having a length different from the other levers so that their ends are transversely off set from each other, a plurality of push bars p-ivotally supported adjacent the ends of said lever, a pluralit of combs mounted adjacent said push bars for radial movement, said comb formed with actuating teeth with each comb having a different combination of teeth so that diiierent combinations of switches may be actuated with difierent combs, a tuning drum rotatably supported about the comb-supporting assembly, a plurality of longitudinal guides mounted on the tuning drum assembly, a cam supported on each guid and movable longitudinally relative thereto, and one of said cams engageable with one of said combs in each position of the tuning drum.

4. Apparatus for controlling the settings of a plurality of control switches comprising, a combsupporting assembly formed with a pair of discs with shafts supported therebetween, said control switches supported on said shafts, a plurality of actuating combs supported by a pair of said shafts mounted for motion relative thereto, each of said combs formed with different combinations of teeth, actuatin means connected to said switches and engageable with said teeth, a tuning drum assembly rotatably supported about said discs, and comb actuating means supported on said tuning drum assembly so that various combs may be actuated at different positions of the tuning drum assembly.

5. Apparatus for controlling the settings of a plurality of control switches comprising, a comb supporting assembly with the switches mounted thereon, a plurality of actuating levers with one lever connected to each switch to actuate it, the levers being of varying lengths, a plurality of push bars rotatably supported on said comb-supporting assembly and each engageable with one of said levers, a plurality of combs supported adjacent said push bars on the comb-supporting assembly and movable relative thereto, each of said combs formed with a difierent combination 6 of teeth, the teeth of said combs engageable in the actuated position with said push bars to actuate the switches corresponding to the teeth of the actuated comb, a tuning drum rotatably support-- ed about the comb-supporting assembly, a p1urality of longitudinal guides supported about the tuning arm assembly, and a cam slidably supported on each of said guides to actuate a comb.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 wherein said tuning drum assembly is connected to selector means for controlling the angular position of said tuning drum.

'2. Means for controlling the settings of a plurality of control switches comprising, a combsupporting assembly with the switches mounted thereon, switch actuating means supported by said comb-supporting assembly, 2 -1 combs supported on said comb-supporting assembly and movable relative thereto where n is the number of control switches, said combs formed with different combinations of teeth that are engageable with said actuating means so that the switches are actuated in various combinations, a tuning drum assembly rotatably supported about the comb supporting assembly, comb actuating means mounted on said tuning drum assembly and different combs actuated by said comb actuating means for different positions of said tuning drum assembly.

8. Apparatus for controlling the settings of a plurality of control switches comprising, a combsupporting assembly, a plurality of control switches mounted in said comb-supportin assembly, switch actuating means supported by said comb-supporting assembly, a tuning drum assembly rotatably supported about the comb-supporting assembly, a plurality of cams supported on said tuning drum assembly to engage said switch actuating means in a predetermined se- Quence according to the rotational position of said tuning drum assembly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number 

